Electrically exploded opening switches for high-current explosive magnetic flux compression generators

This paper presents an overview of publications on the application of electrically exploded current opening switches - for the generation of current pulses up to 100 MA with a rise time of 0.1-10 μs in the load of explosive magnetic flux compression generators (EMG). Experiments were mostly conducted at LANL and VNIIEF with foil opening switches (FOS); different EMG designs were used, and the following currents and characteristic rise times were obtained:- in experiments with helical EMGs: currents of 10 MA in 10 μs and 2-3 MA in 1 μs - at LANL; currents of 13 MA in 5 μs, 8.5MA in 0.4 μs and 1 MA in 0.1 μs - at VNIIEF; the current rise time values of 1 μs and less were obtained by using two-stage opening switches; - in LANL experiments - with a higher-current and “faster” coaxial EMG - load currents grew to 15, 18 and 29 MA in 6 μs; a 50-g condensed-matter liner was driven to a velocity of 6 km/s; - in ~20 VNIIEF experiments - with highest-current and “fastest” disk EMGs - load currents grew to 10-45 MA in 1-2 μs; an imploding 1-g liner was driven to 20-50 km/s, and a 50-g condensed-matter liner, to 12 km/s; as a result of implosion of a wire liner driven by 10 MA current, 1-MJ soft X-rays were produced.